Fiber optic categorization and management tray

ABSTRACT

A fiber optic splice organizer stores optical fiber splices and sufficient slack to permit the fibers to be readily separated, such as for reorganization or to remake a splice. Multiple hinges connect a plurality of fiber trays side by side to provide pivotable connections between trays. A flat orientation of the trays enables splicing and coiling of fibers as they are loaded into a tray. The trays then pivot into a fiber storage position. Special features of the hinges provide support for fibers and splices as they are loaded into the trays. The hinges protect the fibers as the trays are pivoted as well as when the trays are in their folded position for storage without requiring buffer tubes. Multiple architectures for the organization of fibers are enabled without violating minimal bend radii, and while providing for ease of separation of individual fibers or groups of fibers.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a system of support forsplicing of optical fibers from fiber optic cables. More particularly,the present invention relates to an assembly of hinged trays fororganizing optical fibers, positioning them for proper coupling, forcategorizing them into functional groups, and for storing associatedexcess cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With rapid growth in customer demand for ever-increasing bandwidth tosupport transmission of interactive voice, video and data, thetelecommunications industry has outgrown the capability of copper wire.The hunger for a supply of information at first moved slowly from the56-kbps rate offered by dial-up modems to the greater bandwidth offeredby DSL. However, access to broadband transmissions at the 640-kbpscapacity of DSL only served to whet the appetites of consumers of datawho have come to demand even higher rate feeds as more applications aredeveloped to access and use more and more data, such as HDTV and videoon demand. To extend their reach beyond the 10-km limitation imposed byDSL over copper wire, telecommunications and cable providers have beenforced to employ optical fibers and extend them ever closer to more oftheir customers.

Optical fibers are capable of carrying virtually noise-free signals thatmay be extended for very long distances without the need for anamplifying repeater. This has allowed fiber optic networks to movecloser to the home and office. Often these greater distances exceed thelength of optical fiber cables that can be manufactured, requiring theinclusion of splice points along the route. In other cases a bundle offibers may need to be tapped at a drop point to provide access tocustomers along the route. Fiber to the Home, Neighborhood and Office(FTTH, FTTN, and FTTO) presents new challenges in fiber management forrouting, splitting, and combining signals as these so called Deep-Fiber(DF) applications are deployed.

Outside-plant installations of optical fibers typically package twelvefibers in a loose-tube cable. In high-density service areas, loose-tubecables containing 36 or as many as 200 fibers may be used, in which casethe cable is generally made up of multiple smaller bundles of fiberspackaged in color-coded plastic buffer tubes. This modular buffer tubedesign permits easy drop-off of groups of fibers at intermediate pointsalong a route without interfering with other protected intact buffertubes being routed to other locations. The loose-tube cableconfiguration is amenable to aerial, duct and direct-burialapplications.

To make splices and feed drop points, the optical fibers within a buffertube must be exposed by removal of their protective coverings. As eachindividual fiber is spliced to another fiber, by fusion or othermechanical techniques, to extend the reach of the transmission, theresulting splice must be physically supported and protected from theelements before being placed into service. The splicing operation isoften carried out in a transportable clean-room which can be relocatedas necessary to access the fiber optic cables on location. Since thecables will either be suspended from utility poles or buriedunderground, there must be sufficient excess cable to accommodatemovement of the splices to the clean work environment. Furthermore,there must be sufficient excess fiber length relative to the length ofthe buffer tube, typically from one to four meters of slack, to allowthe technician to comfortably test and organize the individual fibers.

A variety of splice trays have been developed to provide support for thesplices and specialized housings have been produced to protect thesplice trays from the environment. Most of these trays also accommodatesufficient storage of the excess slack fiber that is no longer protectedby a buffer tube. One popular “Fiber Optic Splice Closure” (FOSC) hasbeen described by Mullaney, et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,480. Assignedto Raychem Corp., this FOSC has been developed into a series of systemsof splice trays with associated outer protective housings. Many otherparties have developed similar assemblies some of which may beinterchangeable. U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,635 issued to Justice, et al. andassigned to the 3M Company, disclosed what has become a popular splicetray.

Splice trays are generally designed with an attempt to offer someorganization for individual splices. This attempt is challenged andlimited in many regards. Though a splice tray must permit the supportivemounting and protection of individual splices and storage of the slackoptical fibers in a relatively neat configuration, space is limited.Storage of a sufficient amount of slack to enable splicing is most oftenachieved by forming the optical fibers into a series of loops. However,a minimum bend radius must be carefully observed when handling andstoring optical fibers. Bending a fiber more sharply than a certainradius will, at first, result in increased attenuation of the opticalsignal. At some tighter radius the fiber will break. The minimum bendradius for a given set of fibers establishes some minimum dimensions forsplice trays and their enclosures.

Another consideration in the organization of splices within a tray, or asystem of trays, is that the loops of slack fibers frequently becomepermanently tangled with those of neighboring fibers. This occurs simplyin the normal course of splicing and routing of the slack for storage.Occasionally a splice will need to be accessed at a later date in orderto be remade or repaired to achieve a splice of sufficient quality forsupport of a proper optical signal. The Fiber Optic Splice Organizerdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,933 to Hunsinger, et al., issued Jan.11, 1994, is one attempt for securing optical fiber splices and slackwhich permits separation of the spliced fibers to facilitate remaking ofa splice. U.S. Pat. No. 6,507,691, issued to Hunsinger, et al., isanother one in a series of patents owned by Tyco/Raychem which includesthe above-mentioned Mullaney ('480) patent. Taken together these patentsshow the use of a plurality of splice trays hinged together at a commonend and mounted within a single housing.

A stack of splice trays that are so configured offers some capabilityfor segregating buffer tubes from one tray to another, but provides noassistance for organizing fibers once removed from the buffer tube. Sucha system of stacked trays limits access to one tray at a time. In U.S.Pat. No. 4,913,522, Nolf, et al. make a point of mentioning that withtheir (Raychem) tray design “hinging allows chosen trays to be exposedfor installation of the splice or for repair etc.” This is an advantagein that only one tray at a time is exposed to potential damage while thefibers stored in all other trays remain protected. A disadvantage ofsuch a system is that access to the fibers contained by any particulartray is restricted by the extent to which other trays within the stackmay be folded out of the way or the working tray may be removed from thestack, without over-bending any of the fibers.

With perhaps as many as 300 users being supplied by three opticalfibers, a single twelve-strand buffer tube in a fiber cable can providenetworking to many housing subdivisions. This high-density is convenientfor new installations that have not yet gone “live” and providesefficient use of currently deployed fibers. Once an optical network hasbeen activated, however, handling of a single delicate fiber that isfeeding a large number of subscribers carries a significant exposure toliability which often corresponds to very large insurance premiums paidby those technicians who work in trays containing active fibers.Furthermore, service providers are at risk of dissatisfying customerwith unscheduled outages if fibers are broken. This risk suggests thatactive (Light, live, or hot) fibers should be segregated and providedwith greater protection than those that are inactive (Dark, dead, orcold) while storing the latter for future expansion of the network.

To be useful a splice tray must provide support for splices that havealready been prepared and for access to those splices for repair or foractivation as the network is extended. The tray must also provideadequate storage for slack fiber associated with the splices withoutbending any individual fiber more tightly than its minimal bend radius.

It would be an advancement to the state-of-the-art to provide a systemof splice trays that would allow for categorization of fibers removedfrom a single buffer tube as well as between buffer tubes. An additionaladvancement would be provision for management of Dark, inactive fibersfor future expansion without disturbance to Light, active ones. Theability to simultaneously access multiple trays within an enclosure,without folding other trays out of the way as has been required byprevious systems, would be a further advancement.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention improves the state-of-the-art in the management offiber optic field cabling infrastructure. The described invention is amultilevel folding fiber management tray, which enables easier routingand improved protection for network expansion. A folding tray that isgenerally planar when in its open position provides space for more fibernetwork components than does a stack of trays while also improving therouting of the fibers. Additionally, the preferred embodiment which usesthree trays in a tri-fold configuration allows for separation of fibercategories into groups of Forward, Reverse, and Control, like that usedin the deep fiber architecture of Aurora Networks. In another embodimentthe three trays may be used at the interface between copper and opticalfiber for segregation of Hybrid, Fiber and Coax (Copper), an HFCarchitecture. Furthermore, provision is made for segregating active(Light) fibers from those that are inactive (Dark). Having separatecategorization trays improves the routing of fibers by allowing theactive networks to be placed in a protected region at the bottom of thetray where they will not be disturbed as new networks are activated.This feature improves reliability for active networks.

Implementation of the present invention begins with a single base traywhich provides mounting points for its firm attachment to an externalprotective housing. The tray is generally shaped as a rectangular ovalhaving sufficient width to comfortably accommodate loops havingdiameters that comply with the minimum bend radius of the fibers thatwill be installed on it. The length of the tray is on the order oftriple its width. This length provides for storage of two sets of loopsof fibers separated from each other with sufficient space between thetwo sets of loops to accommodate a bank of splice holders. By orientingthe splice holders lengthwise in the tray, there is little concern aboutmaintaining minimal bend radius at the ends of the splices. Guide meansincluded within the tray serve to guide optical fibers around apredetermined bend radius. Additional guide means facilitate the entryand exit of fibers to and from the tray and functional separation ofactive and inactive fibers.

For a two-tray, bi-fold system, a second tray, similar to the base traybut without the mounting feature, is located alongside of the base trayand the two are connected by special hinges. With dual pivot axesseparated by a distance on the order of double the depth of the trays,these special hinges allow for the second tray to be folded over the topof the base tray in a face-to-face manner without interference. This isaccomplished by the fact that each pivot axis allows the hinge and itsconnected tray to swing through an arc of 90°. In this manner the hingereadily supports the two trays in a coplanar orientation when theorganizer is opened, and allows them to be folded closed, one on theother, without binding.

Guide means included on the face of each hinge are positioned so as toguide fibers from each tray through the hinge to the other tray. Whenthe trays are in their open, coplanar orientation, these guides providefor ready access to the fibers for routing. As the trays are folded intoa closed position, the same guide means on the hinges serve to supportand protect the fibers while maintaining an appropriate bend radius.

The addition of a third tray produces a tri-fold categorization andmanagement system. The third tray is located alongside of the base trayat the long edge opposite that to which the second tray was attached.Connections between the base tray and the third tray are established byanother set of special hinges having the same features as the first setof special hinges. The primary difference between this second set ofhinges and the first set is that the distance between the pivot axes ofthe hinges now corresponds to approximately triple the depth of thetrays. This extra spacing is necessary to allow the third tray to foldup and over the top of the second tray when the second tray is in itsclosed position folded over the top of the base tray. This second set ofhinges contains guide means similar to the first set of hinges but withsomewhat different spacing to accommodate the greater distance.

The result is a tri-fold organizer that folds into a space having a topplan view footprint of a single tray with triple the thickness of asingle tray. In its closed position, the organizer provides protectionfor the contents of all three trays. Furthermore, in the closed positionthe guiding hinge surface and respective side walls of the trays createa set of essentially coplanar surfaces to support and protect the fiberswhile maintaining adequate bend radii. When unfolded to its openposition, all three trays of the organizer and their associated hingesbecome effectively coplanar. The open position provides three readilyaccessible trays into which optical fibers, and possibly other relatedconductors, may be easily separated as three categories to be identifiedby the user. Without regard to whether the organizer is opened, closed,or in transition between the two positions, the transfer distance acrossthe hinges between trays is always supported and protected.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as otherobjects will become apparent from the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a tray system constructed according tothe present invention in an open, flat position;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the tray system in a closed, foldedposition;

FIGS. 3-5 show end views of the tray system during the transition froman open position to a closed position;

FIG. 6 is an assembly drawing of the tray system showing its individualcomponents;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the center tray taken along the line 7-7 ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows an expanded end view of the tray system in a foldedposition;

FIG. 9 shows an isometric view of a hinge used between the center andright-hand trays;

FIG. 10 shows an isometric view of a hinge used between the center andleft-hand trays;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the tray system in a closed position;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11; and

FIG. 13 shows a top plan view of the tray system in an open positionwith schematic representation of fibers routed through a few of the manypossible paths.

The following Reference Numbers may be used in conjunction with one ormore of the accompanying FIGS. 1-13 of the drawings:

-   20-22 buffer tubes-   30 strain relief fastener-   40 strain relief holes-   50 optical fiber-   51-56 route for active (Light) optical fibers-   57 route for inactive (Dark) optical fibers-   61, 63, 65 splices-   70 splice holder-   100 base tray-   110 mounting bracket on 100-   115 mounting holes-   120 outer sidewall, proximal-   122 outer sidewall, medial-   125 outer sidewall, distal, arcuate-   128 outer sidewall, proximal, arcuate, part of 110-   130 inner sidewall, hinge barrier-   132 inner sidewall, integral-   135 guide tab on 130-   136 guide tab on 132-   140 guide post, medial-   150 guide post, distal, with guide tab-   160 guide tab, part of 125-   170 pad, splice holder mounting area-   200 tray, second, right-hand-   210 tray, third, left-hand-   300 hinge, right-hand tray-   302 hinge pin-   304 channel on hinge for pin-   306 channel on tray for hinge pin-   308 hinge stop-   310 guide posts on hinge-   312 guide walls with tabs on hinge-   314 tabs on hinge guide walls-   320 hinge, left-hand tray

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The categorization and management system of the present invention willnow be described in detail beginning with reference to FIG. 1. Assemblyof the system in its preferred embodiment begins with a base tray 100that is hingedly connected on its right to a second, right-hand tray200, and on the left to a third, left-hand tray 210. The connectionsbetween the base and right-hand trays are provided by hinges 300, whilehinges 320 connect the left-hand tray 210 to the base tray 100. Allconnections between hinges and trays are provided by pins 302.

The right-hand tray 200 and the left-hand tray 210 are identical to oneanother, differing only in that they have been rotated within theirplanes by 180° from one another. With the exception of the mountingbracket 110 and strain relief elements 40, the outer trays 200 and 210have the same features as the base tray 100. It is to be noted that, inone alternate embodiment, a smaller organizer can be constructed usingonly two trays by omitting the left-hand tray 210. If only twocategories of conductors are to be managed, a two-tray system will besufficient and will provide all of the protective features of thethree-tray system.

With the organizer in its open position, all trays (100, 200 and 210)along with their connecting hinges (300 and 320) are effectivelycoplanar so that they lie flat on a workbench or other surface,providing easy access for loading and adjusting the contents of alltrays. When folded into its closed position, as can be seen in FIG. 2,the organizer of the present invention has a footprint equivalent tothat of a single tray. The overall thickness of the organizer has adepth approximately equivalent to the sum of the depths of theindividual trays, for instance, a tri-fold tray system will have thesame thickness has three trays stacked on top of one another, since thatis exactly what occurs as the system is folded into its closed position.In its closed position, the organizer provides protection for thecontents of all trays, without regard to their number.

With assembly of the organizer having been completed, the base tray 100is next firmly attached to an exterior housing by using screws throughthe mounting holes 115 in mounting block 110. A buffer tube 20containing some quantity of optical fibers (50) is inserted into thehousing. The buffer tube 20 is placed on the base tray 100 and securedwith cable ties 30 through strain relief tie-down holes 40. Afterexposing a sufficient length, generally 1-4 meters, of the individualoptical fibers 50 by removal of the protective buffer tube, the fibers50 may be separated into categories and routed throughout the threetrays as desired.

The folding operation from an open position to a closed position isdepicted in the sequence of end views FIGS. 3, 4 and 5. In FIG. 3, itcan be seen that the right-hand tray 200 has been folded over the top ofthe base tray 100. In FIG. 4 the right-hand tray 200 has been dropped toclose the space over the base tray 100. If this were the alternateembodiment having only two trays, the resulting organizer would at thispoint be effectively closed with all of its contents fully protected.The tray system is held in the closed position by means of a strap, notshown in the figures. In the preferred embodiment containing threetrays, with the right-hand tray 200 in its closed position, theleft-hand tray 210 is folded over the top of the right-hand tray 200.The result is a tri-fold organizer shown in FIG. 5 in which it can beseen that the contents of all three trays are now fully enclosed andprotected.

The assembly plan view of FIG. 6 shows how the hinges (300 and 320) arepinned to the trays (100, 200 and 210) to facilitate a coplanar layoutin the open position and to provide the necessary flexibility for thetransition to a closed position. FIG. 7 shows a side view of the longedge of a tray, all trays appearing similar in this view. A hinge pin302 is inserted into aperture 306 on a tray and passes through channel304 on a hinge 300 to be seated. Those skilled in the art of hingedesign will recognize that there are many ways to accomplish such ahinged connection. One alternative includes a hinge snap design whichoffers some advantage to manufacturing. The exploded end view of atri-fold system is shown in FIG. 8. Here it will be noted that hinges300 which connect the right-hand tray 200 (in the middle of the figure)to the base tray 100 have sufficient length between their pivot pointsto span the depth of two trays. Furthermore, the left-hand tray 210 isconnected to the base tray 100 with hinges 320 which have an extentbetween their pivot points to span the depth of three trays.

It is to be noted that a four-tray system could be assembled with theaddition of one more tray to the far left of the left tray 210. Thefourth tray would be connected to the left-most edge of the left-handtray 210 using hinges that are identical to those used for theright-hand tray 200, namely hinge 300 having a length appropriate to thedepth of a two-tray stack. In this case the left-most tray would befolded over its neighbor, the left-hand tray 210, then that combinationof two trays would be folded as a unit over the folded right-hand tray200 in the same manner as the left-hand tray 210 of the three traysystem. To accommodate such an assembly, the hinges 320 between theleft-hand tray 210 and the base tray 100 would need to be extended tomatch a four-tray depth as spacing between their pivot points.

While it is possible to extend the described folding operations tostacks of more than four trays, the desirability of doing so isdiminished. As one practical point, standard housings for enclosingtrays of this type are typically constructed to accommodate a maximum offour trays. An additional consideration is that, as a categorizationsystem, there is little need for even four categories, and less need formore than four categories. Practicality aside, the present invention maybe extended by attaching more trays and folding, or rolling, them into alarger stack. It will be recognized by those skilled in the art thatstacks of more than four trays will require additional combinations ofhinges having appropriate depths and that trays beyond the first fourwill need to be adjusted in width if a stack of uniform outer width isdesired. In all cases the present invention provides without limit for atray management system that in the closed position provides fullprotection of the contents of all trays, and in their open position alltrays are coplanar and their contents are simultaneously readilyaccessible.

Details of the hinges are shown in FIG. 9 for the right-hand hinges 300,while FIG. 10 shows the left-hand hinges 320 of the three-tray organizerof the preferred embodiment. All hinges contain guide walls 312 withoverhanging tabs 314 that serve as a capture means. These work inconjunction with guideposts 310 to capture and support fibers 50 as theypass through a hinge (300, 320) from one tray to another, holding thefibers as the hinges are maneuvered to open and close the trays

A detailed top plan view of a three-tray system appears in its foldedclosed position in FIG. 11. Taking a sectional view through the locationidentified in FIG. 11 yields an end view of the closed three-tray stackshown in FIG. 12. Here it can be seen that as the trays are unfolded,hinge stop 308 will come to rest against the bottom of the adjacenttray. This acts to prevent the trays from opening beyond their desiredflat coplanar position.

Refer now to FIG. 13 for a depiction of the elements common to each ofthe trays. The outer surface of outer sidewalls (120,122, 125 and 128)provide protection of the contents of each tray, while the innersurfaces of those outer sidewalls serve as guides for routing of thestored conductors. Inner sidewalls 130 with guide tabs 135 provideadditional guidance. The guide means are rounded out by guide posts 140and 150, each having their own guide tabs, and guide tab 160 on theinner wall of the outer sidewall 125. All guide tabs work in conjunctionwith their associated guide posts and guide walls as capture means tohold fibers loosely in place as the trays are handled and then to keepthe fibers from falling out of place as the trays are folded into aninverted position. Additional protection is provided by a cover sheet(not shown). Generally made of a clear plastic, this cover sheet issnapped over each tray before the tray system is folded closed.

Pads 170 centrally located in each tray are provided for mounting ofsplice holder 70. Suitable splice holders 70 are available asindustry-standard components and may be placed in, or omitted from, eachtray as desired. This region may also be used to accommodate splittersand combiners, in addition to splices.

Routing of the conductors throughout the tray system will now bediscussed with continued reference to FIG. 13 using exemplary routingpaths 51-56 for active (Light) fibers and routing path 57 for inactive(Dark) ones. With the buffer tubes 21-22 firmly secured to the base tray100 by fastener 30 at strain relief 40, a suitable length of theindividual optical fibers 50 will be exposed prior to routing throughoutthe categorization and management tray system of the present invention.Initially, a fiber will follow along the inside wall of one section ofthe outer sidewall 120. If a length of slack fiber is to be storedwithin a tray, it may be formed into loops at either end of the tray.One set of loops may be located at the proximal end of the tray, nearthe mounting and entry point, while another set of loops may be formedat the distal end of the tray. A few of the many potential paths aredepicted schematically by routes 51 and 52 in the base tray 100, routes53 and 54 in the right-hand tray 200, and routes 55 and 56 in theleft-hand tray 210. It is to be noted that, in these examples, thefibers in routes 51 and 52 are connected through splice 61, while thefibers following routes 53 and 54 connect through splice 63, and routes55 and 56 carry fibers that connect through splice 65. An outer “trench”is provided by the present invention for the storage of additionalfiber, especially of unused Dark fibers. One possible such path isrepresented by route 57.

A pair of straight outer sidewall segments 122 align with curved endwallsegments 125 and 128 to guide long runs of fiber 50. In traveling fromone end of a tray to the other end, a fiber 50 will be laid down in a“trench” that is bounded at the outside by the inward-facing surfaces ofthe outer sidewall segments 122, 125 and 128 and the inward-facingsurfaces of the inner sidewall segments 130. This outer trench extendsinto the ends of the tray to work in conjunction with the outward-facingsurfaces of guide posts 150 which keep the run of fiber from collapsingtoward the center of the tray providing a path for crossing from oneside of a tray to the other while keeping the center of the tray clear.

To store slack fiber, guide posts and guide tabs are positioned tocontain a set of loops at each end of each tray. Guide posts 140 and 150each have overhanging tabs facing inward toward other guide posts. Inaddition to these, the inner sidewall segments 130 also have inwardfacing tabs 135. Fibers may be coiled into loops and tucked below thesetabs for storage of slack. Taken as a group, these tabs are spaced so asto establish a proper working diameter that does not violate the minimumbend radius of a fiber that is contained by them.

Near the center of each tray are pads 170 where a splice holder 70 maybe attached. This area is of sufficient length to allow straightlineentry to and exit from a splice without interfering with the storageloops at the ends of the tray.

Gaps between the outer sidewall segments (120, 122, 125 and 128) and theinner sidewall segments 130 are located so as to provide access to thehinges so that a fiber 50 may travel from one tray to a neighboringtray, such as from the base tray 100 to the right-hand tray 200 throughhinges 300 as depicted by routes 54, 54 and 57. Similar gaps in thedestination tray allow the fiber 50 to continue beyond the hinge regionin order that it may be formed into loops or placed into a splice holderon that tray as appropriate. Inner sidewall segments 130 serve to createa “keep out” zone for fibers running past them, since any loose fibersin the region to the outside of those guides would likely be pinched bythe closing of hinges. Guide posts and overhanging tabs on each hingeconfine the fiber 50 as it gently crosses the hinge region at a shallowangle avoiding improper bends. Spacing between the sidewall gaps inconcert with hinge dimensions serve to stabilize and support the fiber50 even as the trays are folded one over the other, again avoidingimproper bends throughout the rotation.

Using three trays in a tri-fold configuration as in the preferredembodiment allows for conductors to be easily separated into threecategories. In one common architecture, the deep fiber architecture usedby Aurora Networks, fibers are separated by function and categorizedinto the standard groups of Forward, Reverse, and Control. Many otherdeep fiber or Hybrid, Fiber, Coax (known as HFC) architectures can takeadvantage of the fiber categorization enabled in the present invention.

In order to protect active (Light) fibers from interference andpotential damage, it is a feature of the present invention that thesecritical fibers be looped within the system of guide posts and guidetabs and placed next to the surface of a tray. After the active fibershave been secured in such a protected location, the inactive (Dark)fibers may be routed around the trench formed between the innersidewalls 130 and outer sidewalls (122, 125 and 128). If so desired,loops may be formed by winding a fiber 50 around the outside of theguide posts 140 and 150 where they receive some support from guide tabs160 in addition to the cover sheet (not shown) which will be placed overthe contents of the entire tray.

Using an organizational method such as this allows the Dark fibers to beeasily removed at a later date for activation with minimal disturbanceto the tender Light fibers. The present invention has been designed toaccommodate network expansion and accordingly enables such anorganization which considerably improves the protection of activenetworks and reduces a technician's exposure to liability for damagedcircuits and unscheduled customer service outages.

Various embodiments of the present invention have been described as asystem of categorization and management trays. Each embodiment is bothcompact and robust when the resulting organizer is in its closedposition. The trays and hinges open to form a coplanar layout where alltrays are readily accessible at the same time. This simultaneous accessto multiple trays enables easy separation of fibers, or otherconductors, into multiple categories for improved network management inaccordance with a variety of management architectures. Location andspacing of guide means minimizes deviations in optical paths as thetrays are folded from an open position, for system construction orrepair, into their closed position for storage and undisturbed use.Furthermore, a method has been described that uses the present inventionto separate optical fibers that are active from those inactive fibersthat are being stored for network expansion.

While the present invention has been described with respect to apreferred embodiment, with other alternate embodiments suggested, thereis no implication to restrict the present invention to preclude otherimplementations that will be apparent to those skilled in the relatedarts. Furthermore, although a particular standard tray and housingformat has been used as an example, it is easily recognized that thefeatures of the described invention may be implemented in conjunctionwith a variety of alternative sub-system components. Therefore, it isnot intended that the invention be limited to the disclosed embodimentsor to the specifically described details insofar as variations can bemade within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. An organizer for spliced or split conductors wherein at least some ofthe conductors are fiber optic, the organizer comprising: a plurality oftrays; and at least one hinge mechanism hingedly connecting each of thetrays from the plurality of trays to at least one other tray, whereineach tray includes a two-sided plate having a generally oval orrectangular shape, and wherein a first side of the plate provides aplanar support surface, and a second side of the plate provides aworking surface, the working surface of each tray further including aguide means for guiding the conductors within the tray, and wherein afirst of the plurality of trays is a base tray, the base tray furtherincluding at least one port for the passage of conductors into and outof the organizer, and wherein the base tray is flanked along a firstedge by a second tray, and wherein each hinge mechanism includes arouting means for routing the conductors between adjacent connectedtrays, and wherein each hinge mechanism is operable so as to provide anopened position in which the support surfaces of adjacent connectedtrays and the hinge mechanism between them are effectively coplanar,facilitating access to the working surfaces of the trays, and a closedposition in which the working surfaces of adjacent connected trays areparallel and facing one another.
 2. The organizer of claim 1, whereinthe conductors are organized into two groups, and wherein the base trayis used for storage of conductors from a first of the two groups, andwherein the second tray is used for storage of conductors from a secondof the two groups.
 3. The organizer of claim 2, wherein the two groupsof conductors are identified according to their function.
 4. Theorganizer of claim 3, wherein the functions of the two groups ofconductors are equivalent to Forward and Reverse.
 5. The organizer ofclaim 1, wherein the base tray is flanked along a second edge oppositethe first edge by a third tray.
 6. The organizer of claim 5, wherein theconductors are organized into three groups, and the base tray is usedfor storage of conductors from a first of the three groups, the secondtray is used for storage of conductors from a second of the threegroups, and the third tray is used for storage of conductors from athird of the three groups.
 7. The organizer of claim 6, wherein thethree groups of conductors are identified according to their function.8. The organizer of claim 7, wherein the functions of the three groupsof conductors are equivalent to Forward, Reverse and Control.
 9. Theorganizer of claim 6, wherein the three groups of conductors areidentified according to their material composition.
 10. The organizer ofclaim 9, wherein the material composition of the three groups ofconductors includes Fiber, Copper and Hybrid, and wherein the Hybridgroup includes a mix of Fiber and Copper conductors. 11-13. (canceled)14-20. (canceled)